Chapter 293: Shifting Powers: Seeds of a New Era

“If we go through with this, aren’t we just acknowledging their status?”

“What if another king like Rocks rises in the New World? Wouldn’t we be handing someone else the crown?”

“If things spiral out of control, wouldn’t it all fall apart…”

This approach is like raising venomous insects—let them battle each other and see who survives.

Behind the scenes, we grant the title of King of the New World, letting them fight it out and wear down the pirates’ strength.

Early on, this might play right into our expectations, at least for a while.

But as time goes on, the position of emperor just grows more secure—eventually someone might even take over the rest.

If a top-tier powerhouse emerges and unites all those factions…

That’d be a massive threat to the World Government.

Saint Woqiuli’s raspy voice filled the room. “In that case, let’s put it to a vote.”

“All those in favor, raise your hand.”

Saint Derlin raised his hand first, followed quickly by Saint Woqiuli.

After careful thought, Saint Nasujuro couldn’t come up with a better plan, so he reluctantly raised his right hand too.

Seeing that three had already voted, Saint Borg looked frustrated but it was hopeless.

He could only sigh. “Just hope you all don’t regret this later.”

The decision was set, but the details still needed to be hammered out.

It all moved fast—they wanted to shake things up for Karl as soon as possible, make sure he didn’t stay free and easy any longer.

By that afternoon, Morgans had already gotten the message to Karl.

Karl turned the intelligence report in his hands, weighing the pros and cons.

Once he’d made up his mind, he handed it to Charlotte Linlin, wanting her opinion.

Karl stood up, pacing back and forth across the room.

If the World Government was going to play this game, why not just go along with it?

Besides, even if the World Government weren’t pulling the strings, the Four Emperors would’ve emerged anyway.

After reading the note, Charlotte Linlin immediately asked, “Karl, is this good or bad for us?”

“Will it have a big impact on us?”

“Linlin, what do you think?”

Hearing him bounce the question back, Charlotte Linlin thought it over. “The downsides probably outweigh the good.”

“Aren’t they just tossing us into the fire with this?”

“This’ll make every newbie pirate in the New World stop thinking about who to follow…”

“Instead, they’ll start plotting to overthrow us and be the next Emperor.”

“This’ll throw the New World into constant war. What if…”

Karl nodded. She wasn’t wrong.

That’s how history played out—while the Four Emperors reigned for ten-odd years, nobody could topple them, except for that guy Luffy.

Main character plot armor really is something, all sorts of wild things happened to him.

He even took down an aging Golden Lion in the movies, and then beat the rejuvenated Ledfield too.

Back in his prime, Ledfield clashed with the Whitebeard Pirates, then got surrounded by Garp and Sengoku, and fought for days before he was finally worn down.

He was a true one-man army.

He wreaked havoc at Charlotte Linlin’s tea party—and still escaped unscathed. Even Big Mom got stabbed, but Luffy and his crew slipped away unharmed, despite so many powerhouses on the island.

But that’s not even the craziest part.

Under Kaido’s brutal attacks, Luffy awakened Advanced Conqueror’s Haki—a mastery you can’t just pick up overnight.

Then he unlocked the true power of the Nika Fruit and knocked Kaido into the magma below—nobody knew if he’d survive.

After the battle, Luffy and Blackbeard Teach both became Emperors.

All of that happened in barely two and a half years.

He really deserved the nickname ‘little Blacky.’

Wait, no—he’s the true fated protagonist.

Where the protagonist goes, nothing grows!

“You’re only seeing the bad side.”

“With our strength, are we really scared of a few challenges?”

“Other than the World Government, who else on this sea can threaten us?”

“Honestly, I see a lot of upsides here.”

Charlotte Linlin was puzzled. The disadvantages were obvious—didn’t Karl see them?

Even if no one posed a threat now, who knew what might happen in the future?

“Is there something I missed?”

“Come on, don’t keep me in suspense.”

Karl walked over to explain in detail.

“What’s our real objective?”

“We want to overthrow the Celestial Dragons.”

“But that’s not something just the two of us can pull off.”

“We need more allies.”

“This World Government move will let every force under us keep fighting and getting stronger, letting us pick out the ones who can really battle.”

“When the time is right…”

“We won’t be short of elite troops.”

He was right. Thanks to the Four Emperors’ iron grip, both Big Mom’s and Whitebeard’s pirate crews weren’t really prepared for top-tier fights.

Their strength only barely reached admiral level at best.

Meanwhile, Roger’s crew, who had no territory and kept jumping into battle after battle, had three open admiral-class fighters.

That just proved you only reach the true pinnacle by fighting again and again.

After Karl’s analysis, Charlotte Linlin nodded as if she understood.

“So, this is a mixed blessing then.”

“Exactly. You can see it both ways.”

“If you’re only pessimistic, you’ll never see the bright side, no matter how optimistic things really are.”

“But if you shift your perspective, you’ll discover a whole new world.”

“Tell Morgans not to hold back—let’s get the word out there, loud and clear.”

“I want to see—without some fate-favored chosen one, who’s got what it takes to topple me?”

Morgans soon got Karl’s orders. Since Karl didn’t care…

That settled it—without hesitation, Morgans published the World Government’s news in papers across every sea.

East Blue!

A nameless village.

Skor, with a bounty of ten million berries, was ravaging the place—he slaughtered more than a hundred villagers.

The women were dragged off to the pirate ship, facing long days of darkness and cruelty—a tragic fate for the powerless.

Never think pirates are a good thing. Blood and fire are the true symbols of piracy.

“Captain Skor, check out today’s newspaper!”

A pirate brandishing his blade ran over to Skor with two freshly bought papers, just off a carrier pigeon.

The news was just too explosive to keep to himself.

The world’s structure could shift at any time—and their opportunity might be close.

Captain Skor was wiping blood off his blade with a villager’s shirt.

Hearing the commotion, he frowned in annoyance, then flashed a bloodthirsty grin. “Hope you’ve got good news for me.”

“Otherwise, all this wiping would’ve been for nothing.”